The Mirror's Magic
by Shadow Kick
Summary: Juniper Montage is angry at the Equestria girls for getting her kicked off the movie set, now she works as an usher. One day, she finds a magical crystal mirror that grants only her wishes, but when the magic gets out of hand, Juniper sucks the mane 7 into a limbo world. Now only Starlight Glimmer from Equestria can save them, or can she?
1. Mirror Image

(After the events of Dance Magic and Movie Magic)

At the mall, Juniper Montage had begun her new job as a movie theater usher. Just then, the TV monitors started playing the winning music video of the Chance to Prance Competition.

Juniper groaned. "Those girls! Ugh! Ahh! First, they get me kicked off the Daring Do set, and now they're everywhere! I bet they'll be at the premiere tonight. I bet I'll be the unlucky one ushering them to their seats. Ugh!" She then slapped the standing poster board and threw it. Afterwards, her walkie-talkie came on.

" _Juniper, where are you?"_ asked her boss. " _We need you back at the popcorn popper, stat!"_

"What was that... boss?" asked Juniper imitating radio static. "Can't hear you! ... Losing you! ..." She then walked over to a Sun-glasses counter. "Dang! If those girls hadn't shown up, I would have played Daring Do! Tonight would have been about me. I would have been a star!" She then tried on some red star shaped glasses and looked at the counter clerk, but he shook his head. Juniper then looked in a mirror. "You're right. They are a bit much."

Just as she Juniper put the mirror down, a wisp of Equestrian magic floated inside the mall and enchanted the mirror, transforming it into a crystal mirror. Confused by what she had just seen, Juniper picked up the mirror again. But instead of her usual reflection, she saw a beautiful, world-famous movie star vision of herself. The image then smiled at her. "Whoa!" And she dropped the mirror. "What was that?" She bent down to touch the mirror's glass and a flame popped out. "Ahh!" Juniper then picked the mirror up by the handle and saw her beautiful reflection blowing kisses at her. "Incredible!" She then looked at the price tag and tossed the money on the kiosk clerk's table. "Keep the change. Something tells me _this_ thing's worth it."

Elsewhere in the mall, Sunset was sitting at one of the café tables with her friends. She then wrote to Princess Twilight about her fears of magic being in the human world. _"Dear Princess Twilight, tonight's the night of the big movie premiere. All my friends are really excited, and I should be, too. Except I can't seem to keep my mind on anything other than our new powers, and the rogue magic that's loose in this world, and how scary but exhilarating it all is. How does it work? How can we be prepared for it? When will it show up again? Well, you see the problem. With the weight of all Equestria on your shoulders, you must have some advice on how to—"_ She reached the end of her journal. "Oh, no! Shoot."

"What's the matter, Sunset?" asked Pinkie.

"Oh, I just ran out of pages in my journal. That's all," replied Sunset.

"Chillax, SunShim," said Rainbow.

"Um, who's "SunShim"?" asked Fluttershy.

"That's Sunset's new movie star name," answered Rainbow. "I just made it up!"

"For sweet apples' sake, we only have bit parts in this flick," reminded Applejack. "We're not movie stars."

"Yet, darling. Yet," corrected Rarity.

"There's more bothering you than just journal pages, isn't there, Sunset?" asked Twilight.

Sunset sighed.

"C'mon!" said Pinkie leaning on Sunset. "Share your troubles." She grabbed Sunset's cheeks and squeezed them. "It might help soothe your stressed nerves."

"Uh, I don't wanna take any of the fun out of our big night," said Sunset.

"I said spill it, SunShim!" yelled Pinkie.

"Okay, okay," said Sunset. "It's just that things have been calm around here, magic-wise."

"And that's bad how, precisely?" asked Rarity.

"It's not," said Sunset. "It's just that instead of enjoying the fact that things are calm, I'm constantly thinking about things that could go wrong, even when they already aren't."

"Like... what things?" asked Fluttershy.

"I don't know," admitted Sunset. "I shouldn't even be thinking about this stuff right now, and neither should any of you." Just then, Sunset received a reply from Twilight in her journal.

"Look! Twilight's writing you back!" said Pinkie. "Hey, everybody, Sunset's getting an Equestritext!"

"What's it say?" asked Applejack.

"Princess Twilight wants me to come back to... Equestria," said Sunset. "Oh boy…"

Back at the movie theater, Juniper had become obsessed with her new mirror, basking in the fame and attention that her reflected self was receiving; wishing it was actually her. "It's like this mirror is the only one around here who gets me."

Her boss then walked up to her with a broom. "Popcorn spill at the condiment counter."

Juniper then held up her mirror. "Does this look like someone who cleans popcorn spills?"

But instead of Juniper's famous reflection, her boss only saw his own. "No. It looks like someone about to _fire_ somebody."

Defeated, Juniper took the broom and walked over to the spill. "Ugh! This is the worst! Hey, I know what will perk me up, a little Mirror Me time." So she took out her mirror and gazed at her famous alter ego. "That's more like it! I wish this popcorn would just clean itself up, so I could just stare at you all day." Suddenly, the mirror then magically vacuumed up all the popcorn.

Her boss walked over. "Whuh? Done already? I'm shocked."

Juniper laughed nervously. "You and me both."

* * *

A while later, Sunset walked over to Canterlot High, and secretly walked into the statue.

* * *

(Equestria)

Sunset came flying out Twilight's crystal mirror in her original unicorn form and crashed into a stack of books. "Man, that trip was a lot rougher than the last one."

Starlight Glimmer then walked over to her. "You okay?"

Sunset's vision blurred slightly. "Princess Twilight? Is that you?"

"Nope! Starlight Glimmer," said the purple pony.

"Oops," said Sunset. Forgetting she was in Equestria, Sunset tried to stand on two hoofs and found it mildly difficult.

Starlight looked at her in utter confusion.

Realization hit Sunset and she dropped back onto all fours. "Whoa, that feels a little weird after all this time. Starlight Glimmer, you're Twilight's student, right?"

"Yep," answered Starlight. "She wanted me to give you this." Using her magic, Starlight levitated a new journal to Sunset, thinking she would catch with her own. Unfortunately, Sunset had forgotten about her own horn and tried to grab it with her hoofs. Starlight then pointed to her own horn to remind Sunset of the power she possessed.

"My magic!" said Sunset as she levitated the journal into her saddlebag. "Wow it's good to have this back."

"Twilight wanted to give the journal to you herself, but then she and her friends were called away to solve a friendship problem," explained Starlight. "That happens a lot around here."

"That must be stressful, huh?" asked Sunset. "Never knowing when you might be called on to save the day. Dropping everything at a moment's notice. How does she do it?"

Starlight Shrugged. "Sorry, she just told me to give ya the journal."

Sunset sighed. "So, are you sure she won't be back anytime soon?"

"Pretty sure," answered Starlight.

"O...kay..." said Sunset. "I guess I'll be going now." She tried to stand up, but then remembered she wasn't human and got down on all four again.

"Hey," said Starlight. "What's it like back there?"

"It's pretty different," answered Sunset. "And not so different at the same time. It's kinda hard to explain."

"Guess you kinda have to go there to really get it, huh?" asked Starlight. "I, uh, don't suppose..."

"You really think Princess Twilight would be okay with that?" asked Sunset.

"I don't know for sure that she wouldn't be okay with it," said Starlight.

"That's not a particularly compelling argument," said Sunset.

"Twilight wants me to learn as much as I can about friendship," said Starlight. "And I'm not learning a whole lot just hanging out here in her castle."

"Well, I haven't ever seen you in that world," said Sunset. "So chances are you aren't gonna run into yourself."

"...is something you don't hear every day," added Starlight.

"So, just lay low," continued Sunset. "Don't draw too much attention to your—"

Starlight scoffed. "You'll barely even notice I'm there!"

"And, introducing you to my friends would be a nice distraction," added Sunset.

"But you'll also totally notice I'm there!" said Starlight "And it will keep your mind off of other things that might be bothering you." She then Sunset a pleading look. "So? What do you think? Can I go back with you?!"

Sunset looked at the mirror. "Sure." And the two walked through.

* * *

(The human world)

Starlight came out of the statue first, groaning. "What happened?"

"It's all pretty weird at first," said Sunset as she helped Starlight stand up. "But try and roll with it."

Starlight wobbled unsteadily on her new feet. She then looked at her front hoofs only to discover they now had digits. "What are these?"

"Hands," said Sunset.

Starlight then looked down. "And what happened to the rest of my hoo—"

"Feet! Those are feet," said Sunset. "Remember the whole thing where I said you need to lay low? Now would be a good time to play it cool.

"Oh, Right. Heh, Play it cool," said Starlight. She then got down on her hands and feet and tried to gallop.

Sunset quickly picked her up. The students around the two girls started whispering.

"Heh-heh, you did say I'd make a good distraction," said Starlight.

"Huh-huh," agreed Sunset.

"What are those large gray things on their arms?" asked Starlight.

"They're called duel disks," answered Sunset.

"Duel disks?" asked Starlight.

"We use them to play duel monsters," said Sunset. "You play?"

"You bet!" said Starlight.

Sunset then handed her own duel disk to Starlight. "Follow me, I'll show you how to use it."

* * *

Back at the theater's snack counter, Juniper wanted to experiment with her new mirror. So she scooped up some popcorn and poured on the ground. "Mirror, pick up this popcorn!" But nothing happened. Then two girls walked up to the counter. "Mirror, I command thee, pick upeth this poppage of corn." Once again, nothing. "Ugh! Why won't this thing work anymore?" So she poured some more popcorn on the floor.

"Like... we were gonna eat some of that," said one of the girls.

Juniper then pointed the mirror at the girls. "Mirror, make these annoying people go away." But the girls walked away on their own.

"Well, that _kinda_ worked..." said Juniper.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity then walked into the theater.

"Juniper Montage?!" asked Pinkie.

"Whoa!" said Juniper as she jumped in surprise.

"What in the blazes are you doin' here?" asked AJ.

"Were you invited to the Daring Do premiere?" Pinkie.  
"Ooh, that's exciting! No, crazy! No, concerning! No! Just no! No offense."

"I wasn't invited," admitted Juniper. "My uncle Canter felt bad about firing me, so he pulled some strings and got me _this_ job."

"You work here?" asked Fluttershy.

"As little as possible," answered Juniper.

"Y'know, if you hadn't tried to sabotage the movie, you could be celebrating with us tonight," said Rainbow.

Juniper gritted her teeth in absolute anger. "This should be _my_ night! I would have found a way to be in the film if you all had stayed out of it! I would have been Daring Do! Everyone would've loved me!" She then held up her mirror to the six girls. "See?!"

But the girls only saw their own reflections.

"Say what?" asked Pinkie.

"Can't you see what's right under your noses?" asked Juniper. "Ugh! I wish you'd all just go away and leave me alone!" A storm of blue magic then shot out of the mirror and pulled the six girls inside, leaving only Fluttershy's barrette behind. A rush of blue magic then went up Juniper's right arm and her eyes flashed green. After pinning Fluttershy's barrette on her shirt, Juniper looked back into the mirror. "Hmm, looks like I may be finally getting the hang of this."

Her famous reflection then appeared in the glass and waved. "Hi, me."

* * *

A couple minutes later, Sunset and Starlight finally arrived at the mall. Sunset then tried to call her friends on her phone, but she couldn't reach anyone.

"Six cell phones, all straight to voicemail," said Sunset.

"I'm sure they're around," said Starlight. "By the way, thanks for teaching me about the duel disk."

"You're welcome," said Sunset in worried tone.

"Don't worry, I'm sure their fine," said Starlight. "What's the worst that could have happened?"

"Well now, magic is on the loose here," said Sunset. "And it doesn't work the same way it does back in Equestria. Any number of terrible things could have happened. And lately, I spend eighty percent of my time thinking what could go wrong."

Starlight gave Sunset a shocked look.

"My friends are probably fine," said Sunset trying to sound more positive. "I'm overreacting, but maybe not. I can't tell anymore."

"I'm guessing this is the problem you wanted to talk to Princess Twilight about, right?" asked Starlight. "Because, you can talk it over with me if you want."

Sunset then checked her new journal for a response from Twilight, but nothing was there.

"Or you could just journal with Princess Twilight about it," corrected Starlight. "Whatever works?"

"It's just... I know my friends and I have been given special powers for a reason, and I want to be ready for whatever is gonna be thrown at us," explained Sunset. "Now I feel like I could never really relax and let my guard down, so I end up obsessing about it and can't get out of my own head."

"Hmm… that's a toughie," said Starlight. "Guess my advice would be to just trust things will work themselves out in the end. If you spend too much time worrying about the bad things that might happen, you'll miss out on all the good stuff that's already happening."

"Like how Princess Twilight's student is now teaching _me_ a lesson?" asked Sunset.

"Yup, like that," answered Starlight.

Sunset chuckled. "Thanks." She then put her arm around Starlight's shoulder. "Come on, let's go take a look around the theater."

* * *

Meanwhile, Twilight and the girls found themselves trapped in a vast and colorless limbo world with nothing but a large mirror-shaped window and discarded popcorn on the ground.

"Uh... any clue of where we are or what just happened?" asked Rarity. "Anyone?"

"Pinkie Pie's on the case!" said Pinkie. She then began looking around for a wall or some kind of end to the world they were trapped in. "Nope, no wall over here. Come out, come out, walls, wherever you are!" But as she ran around, she just kept ending back up in the same place she began. "I don't get this place! There's no walls in here anywhere!"

"Somehow, some way, that dang Juniper sucked us all inside of that mirror of hers," assumed Applejack.

"Or into some kind of limbo behind it," said Twilight.

Fluttershy began curling her hair in a nervous way. "I think I might be freaking out a little bit."

"You call that a freakout?" asked Rainbow.

"It's sort of a deep-down-inside freakout," answered Fluttershy.

"On the upside, there's popcorn in here!" called Pinkie. "Mmm, sticky..."

"How could this happen on the evening of my very first movie premiere?" asked Rarity. "Of all the nights! Curse you, cruel fate!"

"Not our number-one problem right now, Rare," said Rainbow.

"Mmm, true," agreed Rarity. "But perhaps we can agree it's in the top five."

"Is there really no way out of here?" asked Applejack.

Pellets began falling on the girls.

"Oh, my heavens!" called Rarity. "What's that?!" She then created a force-field with her geode.

Rainbow caught one of the pellets and sniffed it. "Chocolate-covered almonds?"

Using the power of her own geode, Twilight froze the almonds in place.

"Dibs!" called Pinkie. And she started munching up the candy like Pac-Man.

* * *

Back in the normal world, Juniper was using the mirror to vacuum up a mess of chocolate almonds on the floor.

A couple seconds later, Sunset and Starlight arrived at the theater lobby. Once Sunset noticed Juniper, she grabbed Starlight's hand and pulled her behind a prize grabber machine.

"What's wrong?" asked Starlight.

"It's Juniper Montage!" said Sunset quietly.

"Who's that?" asked Starlight.

" _She's_ trouble," answered Sunset. "Huh, that's Fluttershy's barrette. Wait here, Starlight."

As Juniper was stared at her mirror, she then noticed Sunset's reflection approaching hers. "Sunset Shimmer, I was wondering if you'd show up."

"I'm, uh, looking for my friends," said Sunset. "I don't suppose you've seen them?"

Juniper giggled mischievously.

"Where are they?!" asked Sunset.

"I'll never tell," said Juniper.

"You don't have to," said Sunset as he grabbed Juniper's arm. Her geode then showed Juniper's quarrel with her uncle Canter and how she sucked the girls into the mirror.

"No," breathed Sunset.

"What?" asked Juniper.

"I know you want people to like you," said Sunset. "But trust me, the magic in that mirror is only gonna make things worse for you."

Juniper gasped. "How did you know about my mirror?"

"Never mind that," said Sunset. "You have to get rid of it!"

"You're just saying that because you want the mirror for yourself!" said Juniper.

"What I _want_ is my friends back!" said Sunset. "Please, Juniper! You wished them into that mirror, maybe there's a way you can wish them out."

Juniper's eyes glowed green. "Or maybe... I wish you'd join them!" And the mirror sucked Sunset into the limbo.

" _Sunset!"_ gasped Starlight. She then quickly ducked down.

After hearing Starlight, Juniper briefly scanned across the theater. Luckily, she didn't see anything, so she went back to her mirror.


	2. Reflection of your Actions

Inside the mirror, Twilight tried to reach the mirror by hopping onto Applejack's shoulders, but to no avail.

Sunset then came flying in and landed next to the others.

"Sunset!" cried Twilight.

"Ow... " said Sunset.

"Hooray! We're all together again!" said Pinkie as she hugged Sunset.

"But wait," said Twilight. "If we're all in here, then nobody out there knows where we are!"

Suddenly, the girl's geodes stared glowing, but only Fluttershy noticed. "Um… girls…"

"Starlight Glimmer does," said Sunset.

"Um, girls..." repeated Fluttershy.

"You mean Twilight's student back in Equestria?" asked Rarity.

"How would she know where— Ohhhh! I get it," said Pinkie.

"You didn't, she isn't...!" wondered Twilight.

"I kinda told her she could come back here with me," admitted Sunset.

"Girls..." repeated Fluttershy, but still no one answered.

"You really think Princess Twilight would be okay with that?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know for sure that she wouldn't be," answered Sunset.

"Um, so sorry to interrupt," said Fluttershy. "But—"

"Whoa!" said Rainbow cutting her off. "Check out our geodes!"

Fluttershy sighed. "That's what I was trying to say."

The original white background color of the limbo world began changing colors.

"Something's changed," said Twilight. "This wasn't happening before."

"Maybe it's because all seven of us are together," assumed Sunset.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Applejack.

The girl's geodes suddenly shot out bursts of magical energy through the mirror's window.

"I'm going with… not a good thing!" said Rarity.

* * *

(The human world)

Juniper was still staring at her mirror. Then suddenly, the energy of the geodes came out of the mirror and up Juniper's right arm, causing her to grow taller and transform into a 50 foot monstrous version of her reflected famous self. "Now everyone will recognize I'm a real star!" She then walked out the theater.

Starlight quickly strapped Sunset's duel disk to her back and went after Juniper.

When the other shoppers and patrons saw Juniper, they ran and screamed for their lives.

"I gotta stop her, but how?" wondered Starlight. "Well, first things first. I need to get that mirror away from her."

Some of the patrons began recording Juniper and taking pictures of her. But the magic of the mirror hypnotized Juniper into thinking they were adoring fans and paparazzi.

Juniper then bent down to a mother and her son who had an ice cream cone. "Want Mommy to take our picture together?"

After dropping his cone, the kid screamed and ran away with his mom.

As Juniper walked around blowing kisses to the other scared patrons, Starlight snuck up behind her and grabbed her mirror. Juniper tried to shake her off, but Starlight then kicked the mirror out of both their hands. The mirror crackled as it landed on the ground.

* * *

(Limbo)

As the mirror's glass broke, the entire limbo world began to crack.

"The mirror is breaking!" alerted Sunset.

"Whoa!" said Twilight "If Starlight doesn't find a way to get us out of here, I don't know what's gonna happen!"

"Starlight, I hope you know what you're doing," hoped Sunset.

* * *

(The human world)

Starlight immediately picked up the mirror.

"Give that back!" ordered Juniper.

"No!" said Starlight. "This mirror is nothing but trouble, you have to realize that!"

"What I _realize_ is that YOU are just like those other girls!" said Juniper. "I wish you'd join them."

This time, nothing happened. Just as Juniper reached for the mirror, Starlight ran off.

"Phew," breathed Starlight. "Looks like you can't make that wish unless you're the one holding the mirror!"

Juniper then threw a plant at Starlight, but she dodged just in the nick of time. Unfortunately the mirror bumped the ground again, and a piece broke off."

* * *

(Limbo)

The limbo world began to break apart rapidly and pieces started falling into an endless black abyss.

"Help!" cried Fluttershy.

* * *

(The human world)

Starlight hid behind a Sun-glasses counter and held out the mirror. "I wish Sunset Shimmer and her friends would come back!" But another piece of the mirror's glass just broke off instead.

Juniper giggled. "Looks like you can't use it, either!" She then chased Starlight around the counter a couple times, but still couldn't catch her. "Give it back to me!"

"But my friends are trapped in there!" Starlight pleaded.

The girl's winning music video then popped on the mall's TV monitors behind Juniper.

"Your friends ruined my one chance at being famous!" yelled Juniper. She then smashed all the monitors.

* * *

(Limbo)

The remaining pieces the girls were standing on continued to break into smaller pieces.

The glass under Twilight suddenly gave way and she fell.

"Twilight!" cried Pinkie.

Rarity then formed a crystal force field around her and brought her back onto another piece.

"Thank you, Rarity," said Twilight.

"You're welcome," said Rarity in a scared tone.

* * *

(The human world)

Starlight decided it was time to end this. "Hold on, Juniper! I've got a proposition for you."

"What?!" asked Juniper.

"If you defeat me in duel, then I'll give you the mirror back, no questions asked." said Starlight. "But if I win, you release my friends."

Juniper laughed. "Wonderful idea! Let's do this!" She held out her arm and a sparkling crystal white duel disk and deck magically appeared.

Starlight then strapped on Sunset's duel disk and inserted her deck.

"Let's duel!" said the two.

 **Juniper LP: 4000**

 **Starlight LP: 4000**

 **Turn 1: Juniper**

"I play Beastly Mirror Ritual and I'll tribute my Ritual Raven, which in turn, activates its effect!" said Juniper. "If I ritual summon a Dark monster, this card counts as the whole sacrifice. Which means I can now summon Fiend's Mirror in attack mode! I place three cards face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 2: Starlight**

"My move then," began Starlight. "I summon, Magical Exemplar in attack mode. Then I activate the field spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion! Also, my Exemplar gains two spell counters each time a spell card is played." (Magical Exemplar SC: 0 – 2) "Also, every time a spell card is activated, I can place a spell counter on my field spell. Next I'll play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 0 – 1) (Magical Exemplar SC: 2 – 4) "Now I can remove the two counters from my Exemplar to special summon Frequency Magician from my hand." (Magical Exemplar SC: 4 – 2) "Then I'll equip my Exemplar with United We Stand, which gives her 800 extra ATK for each monster on my side."

"Not so fast!" said Juniper. "I activate my trap, Fairy's Hand Mirror! Now your spell card will increase my monster's strength." (Fiend's Mirror ATK: 2100 – 2900)

"Dang," said Starlight. "Oh well, I still gain a few counters." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 1 – 2) (Magical Exemplar SC: 2 – 4) "Now I'll play, Arcane Barrier! Each time a Spellcaster is destroyed, I can place a counter on this card. When I can send it to the graveyard, I can draw a number of cards equal to the number of counters it has." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 2 – 3) (Magical Exemplar SC: 4 – 6) "Now I shall tune my Frequency Magician with my Exemplar to Synchro summon Explosive Magician!"

"Is that supposed to scare me?" asked Juniper.

"Not really," answered Starlight. "But his effect might. By removing two counters from my field spell, I can destroy your equip spell." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 3 – 1)

"Not bad," said Juniper. (Fiend's Mirror ATK: 2900 – 2100)

"I'm just getting started," said Starlight. "Explosive Magician, attack her Fiend's Mirror!"

"I activate my trap, Mirror Force!" said Juniper. "So, say goodbye to your fancy magician."

"No!" cried Starlight. (Arcane Barrier SC: 1) "Oh well, I might as well use this, the spell card, Greed Grado! It lets me draw two cards when a Synchro monster is destroyed." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 1 – 2) "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 3: Juniper**

"My turn," said Juniper. "I summon Reflect Bounder in attack mode. Now Fiend's Mirror, attack her directly!"

"Thank you," said Starlight as the holographic Mirror attacked her.

 **Juniper LP: 4000**

 **Starlight LP: 1900**

"Why are you thanking me?" asked Juniper.

"Because now I can activate my two traps, Dark Horizon and Flashbang!" answered Starlight. "Whenever I take battle damage or effect damage, I can then special summon a Dark Spellcaster monster from my deck that has ATK power less than or equal to the amount of damage I took. So since I took 3600 points of damage, I'll special summon the Magical Marionette!"

"Well I activate my own trap!" countered Juniper. "Mirror of Oaths! When you special summon a monster from your deck, that creature is destroyed and I get to draw a card."

"What?!" cried Starlight as her marionette was destroyed. (Arcane Barrier SC: 2)

"Face it," said Juniper. "You can't beat me. This new magical mirror deck is just as powerful as the mirror itself. Now, Reflect Bounder! Finish her!"

"Um… you can't," reminded Starlight. "Remember Flashbang's effect? After I take damage from a direct attack, it automatically becomes the end phase of your turn."

"Oh yeah," said Juniper. "Fine, make your flipping move."

 **Turn 4: Starlight**

"Very well," said Starlight as she drew. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can special summon Oracle of the Sun! Now I'll send him and my Arcane Barrier to graveyard. Since it had two counters, I can draw two cards. Now I'll use Fissure to destroy your Reflect Bounder." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 2 – 3) "Then I'll summon Defender, the Magical Knight in defense mode, and his effect gives him a counter." (Defender, the Magical Knight SC: 1) "And here's the best part, I can use my field card's spell counters to protect my knight. So I think I'll be safe for a while, I end my turn."

 **Turn 5: Juniper**

"You're not as safe as you think," said Juniper as she drew. "I play Counter Cleaner which removes all counters on the field, in exchange for 500 life points."

 **Juniper LP: 3500**

 **Starlight LP: 1900**

"No!" cried Starlight. (Defender, the Magical Knight SC: 1 – 0) (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 3 – 0) "But your spell gives my Citadel one more counter." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 0 – 1)

"I don't care," said Juniper. "Now I summon Copycat, and I'll use his ability to copy your knight's ATK points!" (Copycat ATK: 0 – 1600) "Fiend's Mirror, attack her defenseless Knight!"

"I don't think so!" said Starlight. "I can still use my field's last counter to protect my knight from your attack." (Magical Citadel of Endymion SC: 1 – 0)

"Crap," said Juniper. "I end my turn."

 **Turn 6: Starlight**

"Back to me," said Starlight. "I place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 7: Juniper**

"My turn, I draw!" said Juniper. "Fiend's Mirror, get rid of that annoying knight!"

"I activate Draining Shield!" said Starlight. "It blocks your attack, and increases my life points by my life points by your mirror's ATK power."

 **Juniper LP: 3500**

 **Starlight LP: 4000**

"Damn!" said Juniper. "Fine, I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 8: Starlight**

"Then it's my turn," said Starlight as she drew. "Yes! I summon Flare Resonator, and I'll tune him together with my knight to Synchro summon Arcanite Magician!"

"All that for such a weak monster?" asked Juniper. "What a waste."

"That's what you think," said Starlight. "When my magician is Synchro summoned, he gains two spell counters and 1000 ATK points for each one. Plus, my Flare Resonator's effect gives my magician 300 more points." (Arcanite Magician ATK: 400 – 2400 – 2700) "Now for his other effect, by removing a counter, I can destroy one of your cards."

"I activate my trap!" said Juniper. "Light – Imprisoning Mirror! This card negates the effects of all Light monsters on the field and in the graveyard."

"Oh no!" gasped Starlight. (Arcanite Magician ATK: 2700 – 700) "Wait, now you're Copycat has no ATK points." (Copycat ATK: 1600 – 0)

"So what?" asked Juniper. "All I need is my Fiend's Mirror."

"Okay, your choice," said Starlight. "Arcanite Magician, attack her Copycat!"

Juniper growled.

 **Juniper LP: 2800**

 **Starlight LP: 4000**

"That's end my turn," finished Starlight.

 **Turn 9: Juniper**

"My turn," said Juniper. "I'll just place a card face down and attack your stupid magician!"

"Dang," said Starlight.

 **Juniper LP: 2800**

 **Starlight LP: 2600**

"Care to give up?" asked Juniper.

 **Turn 10: Starlight**

"Never!" said Starlight as she drew. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Light – Imprisoning Mirror."

"Not gonna happen," said Juniper. "I activate Fiend's Hand Mirror! Now I can redirect your card's effect to your field spell."

"Crap," said Starlight. "Okay, I end my turn."

 **Turn 11: Juniper**

"Glad to hear it," said Juniper. "Fiend's Mirror attack her directly!"

"Ahh!" cried Starlight as she was knocked off her feet.

 **Juniper LP: 2800**

 **Starlight LP: 500**

"I place one card face down and end turn," said Juniper.

 **Turn 12: Starlight**

"Okay," said Starlight as she stood up. "I'll place one card face down in my field card zone, then I'll play Card of Demise, which lets me draw until I have three cards. Awesome! I just drew Palladium Oracle Mahad, and since I did, I can special summon him. Now, crack that mirror!"

"I play my trap, Mirror Mail!" interrupted Juniper. "This card raises my monster's ATK points to the same amount as yours." (Fiend's Mirror ATK: 2100 – 2500)

"Oh no!" said Starlight as the two monsters destroyed each other. "Ugh, if only she didn't have that Light – Imprisoning trap, I could have special summoned the Dark Magician card that Princess Twilight gave me. Oh well, I place two cards face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 13: Juniper**

"Then it's my turn," said Juniper. "I activate Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards. Now I activate Fulfillment of the Contract, now by giving up 800 life points, I can bring back my Fiend's Mirror!"

 **Juniper LP: 2000**

 **Starlight LP: 500**

"I activate Jar of Greed!" said Starlight. "So I can draw one card." (Magical Blast) "Then I'll discard it to activate my other trap, Hallowed Life Barrier. Now I won't any life points for the rest of the turn."

"Crap," said Juniper. "Fine, I'll just place a card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 14: Starlight**

"Okay, my turn," said Starlight. "I'll just set a monster and that's all."

 **Turn 15: Juniper**

"Bad draw? Well, too bad!" said Juniper ass he drew. "Fiend's Mirror, attack!"

"Gotcha!" said Starlight. "You just attacked my Old Vindictive Magician, so say goodbye to your monster!"

"I don't think so," said Juniper. "I activate Shadow – Imprisoning Mirror, which negates all Dark monster effects."

"Shoot!" said Starlight.

"That's enough for now," said Juniper. "So I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

 **Turn 16: Starlight**

"Then it's my turn," said Starlight. "I play Pot of Avarice, now I can return five monsters back to my deck and draw two cards." (Frequency Magician, Magical Exemplar, Defender, the Magical Knight, Palladium Oracle Mahad, and Old Vindictive Magician) "Now I'll activate my face down field spell, Starlight Junktion! This card lets me tribute a tuner and special summon a Synchron monster."

"Too bad you don't have any," reminded Juniper.

"That's not all," said Starlight. "If I manage to summon a Synchro monster during your turn, I can return a card on your field back to your deck. But, like you said, I don't have any. So I'll just summon Clear Effector in defense mode and place a card face down. Your move."

 **Turn 17: Juniper**

"I bet that face down is a card that can summon a Synchro monster. I better get rid of it," thought Juniper. "Yes! I activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Say goodbye to all your spell and traps!"

"I activate my trap, Starlight Road!" interrupted Starlight. "This card not only protects my cards, but also lets me special summon Stardust Dragon from my extra deck!"

"Oh no!" cried Juniper.

"That's right," said Starlight. "Now I can use my field's effect and send one of your cards back into your deck. I think I'll choose your Fiend's Mirror."

"No!" said Juniper. "You'll pay for that!"

 **Turn 18: Starlight**

"Yeah, I doubt that," said Starlight as she drew. "I summon Guerilla Kite, then I'll tune him together with my Clear Effector to Synchro summon Tempest Magician!"

Juniper gasped.

"And by the way," continued Starlight. "My Kite's effect inflicts 500 points of damage to you since it went to the graveyard."

 **Juniper LP: 1500**

 **Starlight LP: 500**

"Well… um… I activate my trap, Mirror Wall!" said Juniper. "Now all your monsters will lose half their ATK power."

Starlight shook her head. "Face it, Juniper, it's over. Tempest Magician, attack!" (Tempest Magician ATK: 2200 – 1100)

"Agh!" cried Juniper.

 **Juniper LP: 400**

 **Starlight LP: 500**

"Stardust Dragon, finish her off!" ordered Starlight. (Stardust Dragon ATK: 2500 – 1250)

"Nooooo!" screamed Juniper.

 **Juniper LP: 0**

 **Starlight LP: 500**

Juniper's duel disk and cards disappeared and she fell to her knees in defeat. "This can't be happening, I mean I'm the star! I'm supposed to win everything!"

"Answer me this," said Starlight. "Is fame really what you're after? Or is it something else?"

"Like what?!" yelled Juniper.

"Like... why did you want to be famous?" asked Starlight.

"I _always_ wanted to be famous," began Juniper. "Daring Doo, was my ultimate favorite, the thing I would give up everything else to be. I'd do anything just for one shot of becoming my favorite movie star. But my uncle never gave me that one shot, and it's not fair! I knew more about the movie set and the plot then some of the actors, but all they wanted from me was coffee and smoothies! I just wanted some of the attention that they all got, then everyone would have wanted to be my friend."

Starlight's mouth dropped remembering her own experience.

"What?!" asked Juniper.

"Juniper, you're going about this the wrong way," said Starlight. "Besides, you don't need to be famous to make friends. I'd be your friend."

"You're just saying that!" said Juniper.

"No," said Starlight. "I've been in a similar situation like this before."

"Liar!" said Juniper.

"I'm not lying!" said Starlight. "Not too long ago, I tried to force a lot of people into living under my own rules. Deep down, I knew it was wrong, but still I did it, until my plans were thwarted. After that, all I wanted was revenge, but it didn't solve anything, all it brought was more pain. Please, don't make the same mistake I did. Trust me, you'll end up regretting it for the rest of your life!"

"I've already made too many mistakes," said Juniper. "What I've done is... just... unforgivable!"

"No, Juniper," countered Starlight. "What I tried to do was unforgivable. But even after all I did, someone still gave me a second chance, which was more than I deserved. And I know they will forgive you too." She then held up the mirror to Juniper. "But first, you have to set them free."

* * *

(Limbo)

The girls desperately held onto each other as the last piece of land began to crack.

* * *

(The human world)

Juniper finally decided to own up for what she had done, and took the mirror from Starlight. "I... I wish I could make up for my mistakes."

* * *

(Limbo)

The final piece of land gave way under the girls and they started to fall, but then, they were transported out the mirror and back into the real world.

* * *

(The human world)

At the same time, Juniper had changed back to her original form.

"Starlight, you did it!" said Sunset as she hugged her friend.

The patrons of the mall then gathered around the nine girls wondering what had just happened.

"So much for laying low," said Starlight.

"I think even Princess Twilight would understand," said Sunset.

"I am _so_ sorry," said Juniper.

"It's okay," said Sunset. "We've _all_ been there."

"Really?" asked Juniper.

Starlight raised her hand. "Manipulated an entire town into giving up their talents so they wouldn't think they were special."

"Overpowered by a magic I couldn't control and created a rift between two worlds, almost destroying both of them in the process," admitted Twilight.

"Turned an entire school into my own personal zombie army in hopes of conquering a distant pony world," said Sunset.

Juniper's eyes widened in complete shook.

"Wow," said Pinkie. "We are a _really_ forgiving group!"

The girls all laughed.

* * *

Later at the Wondercolt Statue, the girls were just relaxing and hanging out with Juniper.

Rarity was styling Juniper's hair, while Pinkie tried up her usher hat.

Starlight sighed. "I'm so sad I have to leave, I haven't really had the chance to get to know all of you."

Just then, Sunset received a reply from Princess Twilight.

"Maybe you don't have to leave yet," said Sunset as she read Twilight's message. _"Dear Sunset, some lessons are better learned in action, and you girls are great teachers. Starlight should stay for a few more days. Enjoy the premiere!"_

All the girls cheered.

"Huh, think you can focus on the positive?" asked Starlight.

"I guess so," answered Sunset. "I mean whatever happens is gonna happen. I've just gotta live in the moment, right?" She then lightly punched Starlight's arm.

"Right" said Starlight returning the soft punch.

"I wish I could go with you girls," said Juniper.

"You can!" said Rarity.

"What?!" asked Juniper.

"Since we we're in the film, we're allowed to bring up to two guests with us," explained Rarity.

"Oh yeah!" said Pinkie. "I forgot."

"We're already bringing Starlight, so we have room for one more," said Sunset.

"So whatta say?" asked Rainbow. "Wanna come with us?"

"After everything I've done, you all seriously want me to come with you?" asked Juniper.

All the girls nodded.

A couple tears dropped from Juniper's eyes. "I-I don't understand how you can forgive me so easily. I mean, I wouldn't have forgiven me."

"But we're not you," said Twilight.

"Besides, what good does it do to hold on to old grudges?" said Applejack. "It's best to just to let em go."

"So that we can move on and build better futures for _all_ of us," added Fluttershy.

Juniper began to cry. "T-thank you!"

"Group hug!" called Pinkie.

Juniper cried more as her new friends embraced her.

* * *

That night, the girls all went to Rarity's house so she could dazzle them up for the premier.

Once they were all _beautified_ , Rarity rented a limo and the nine girls headed off to the theater.


End file.
